'There are no political prisoners in Bahrain'

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Interior Ministry issued a statement to clarify facts and refute frequent allegations of the Qatari Al Jazeera Channel as part of its hostile campaign against the Kingdom of Bahrain.

In the statement, the Interior Ministry asserted the following:

First: The report of Al Jazeera channel quoting US Congress Members calling for “the release of political prisoners in Bahrain” is baseless and against reality. Bahrain has no single political prisoner. Those serving their penalties at the Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre, in which Al Jazeera and its proxies are pressuring for their release, are convicts in criminal and terrorist cases, and final verdicts were issued against them after completing all judiciary phases.

Second: Freedom of expression is one of the primary human rights principles that Bahrain gives high importance in its human rights records. This should be clear in the activities of local media and social media websites that reflect the vitality of Bahraini society, which enjoys the brightest era of freedom of opinion and expression.

Third: Those running the Qatari Al Jazeera Channel think that the channel is a media establishment to highlight various opinions, “the opinion and the other opinion.” Then why are the “different opinions” only limited to those who work against Bahrain and its accomplishments? Those people overlooked Bahrain’s long human rights accomplishments, including its milestones in the last few years. Along with the formation of active and civilised organisations such as the National Institution for Human Rights, the Ombudsman and the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission that carry out periodic and surprise visits to the reformation and rehabilitation centres to ensure that inmates receive services stated in the law.

Fourth: The double-standard of the Qatari Al Jazeera Channel in its media approach and attempts to diminish others and interfere in their internal affairs is obvious, and it is against the channel’s professionalism claims.